Achilles and the tortoise
Preserved but no longer current.
The allusion is to the following paradox proposed by Zeno: In a race Achilles, who can run ten times as fast as a tortoise, gives the latter 100 yards start; but it is impossible for him to overtake the tortoise and win the race; for, while he is running the first hundred yards the tortoise runs ten, while Achilles runs that ten the tortoise is running one, while Achilles is running one the tortoise runs one-tenth of a yard, and so on ad
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Achilles and the tortoise” mean?
The allusion is to the following paradox proposed by Zeno: In a race Achilles, who can run ten times as fast as a tortoise, gives the latter 100 yards start; but it is impossible for him to overtake the tortoise and win the race; for, while he is running the first hundred yards the tortoise runs ten, while Achilles runs that ten the tortoise is running one, while Achilles is running one the tortoise runs one-tenth of a yard, and so on ad
Is “Achilles and the tortoise” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.